Gibblet
by Samitballi
Summary: Gibbs spends the night with Tony and Ziva's 6 year-old daughter sleeping in the boat. Pure fluffy adorableness!


Author's Note: I've been reading lots of stories about Tony and Ziva's kids and Grandpa Gibbs so I decided to throw my hand at writing a story. Honestly I have no clue where this came from. It just came to me last night while I was supposed to be sleeping but my mind wouldn't let me. But I hope you like =) Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks! Enjoy =)

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><p>"Are you sure about this, Gibbs?" Ziva asked; apprehension literally shaking her voice.<p>

"Absolutely." Gibbs replied sternly.

Ziva paused. "Are you positive?" she asked but her boss remained certain. "She's a handful, Gibbs. I'm not going to lie; six year old little girls aren't easy."

Gibbs rested his hands on Ziva's shoulders, looking her square in the eye. "Ziva, everything is going to be fine. I can handle it." he said with a small smile. Ziva's protectiveness was beyond adorable.

She finally sighed, her shoulders relaxing noticeably. "Okay, you are right." she murmured and forced a smile. But she was still weary as she left Gibbs in her living room to go back to the bedroom. She knocked on the door as she opened it.

"Ahavah," Ziva mumbled as she walked into the room. "Someone is here to see you." she exclaimed and the little girl sitting on the floor turned around. All curly brown hair and brown eyes, Ziva's daughter smiled up at her.

"Who!" the little girl asked excitedly; her peaceful eyes lighting up. She stood up from the dolls she'd been playing with and took off running to the living room. "Grandpa Gibbs!" she screamed in childish delight as she careened towards him. Gibbs was waiting with open arms and so he caught her effortlessly when she jumped straight at him.

"Hey there little girl!" Gibbs smiled, picking the girl up and tossing her in the air. The six year old giggled furiously and held tightly to Gibbs's neck when they hugged. He kissed her cheek as always then set her down.

"Grandpa Gibbs wanted to ask you something." Ziva said, leaning against the hallway back to the bedrooms. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her daughter so happy and her boss so playful. Gibbs had really changed when Ariel came around. Sure, everyone knew deep down that Gibbs was a softy. He rarely showed it- and usually only to Abby- but Ziva knew the man had a big heart. It was just so special to see him open that wonderful heart to her child.

"What is it?" Ariel asked, looking up at Gibbs like she was a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. She absolutely adored her "grandfather." He could tell her the sky was green and she'd believe him without a doubt. It didn't matter how long they went between visits, Ariel still asked about Gibbs every day. Before bed when she prayed with her parents, she'd make sure to send a special prayer to God for Gibbs. And every day when her parents got home from work she'd ask how Gibbs was doing.

Gibbs knelt down to the little girl's height and looked at her seriously. "I did something special tonight." Gibbs said, his voice turning into that of a fairytale narrator.

"What did you do!" Ariel asked, her voice barely audible as she leaned in close to give Gibbs her full and undivided attention. He leaned in as well; soaking up the little girl's attention like it was his only oxygen.

"I finished my boat. And I remember promising a little girl we'd have a sleep over in it when it was finished." Gibbs said and Ariel gasped. He leaned back, mumbling, "Or was that a different little girl?" thoughtfully.

"No, Grandpa Gibbs! No it _was_ me! I wanna sleep in the boat!" Ariel exclaimed joyfully; jumping up and down and clasping her hands together happily.

Gibbs smiled at her, saying, "Well then let's do it!" grandly. The little girl just didn't know what to do with herself she was so pleased. She turned to beg and pleaded with her mother to let her go and when Ziva said yes Ariel nearly exploded with bliss. She squealed with delight before telling Gibbs to "Wait right there!" and running back to her bedroom to pack a suitcase.

"Are you sure-" Ziva began to say again before Gibbs cut her off with a swift smack to the back of the head. She laughed but saw it coming. "Okay, okay. Point taken." she said as Gibbs walked down the hallway to help Ariel pack. If someone didn't watch over her, the little six year old would stuff her entire bedroom in her Hello Kitty suitcase. Then she'd proceed to stuff her whole toy chest into her pink backpack.

As Ziva waited for Gibbs and Ariel to return, she picked up a few stray toys and righted the family picture frame her and Ariel had accidentally knocked over when wrestling earlier that evening. The front door clicked open just as she was tossing Barbie's into the toy bin behind the couch. She turned and smiled from ear to ear.

"_Lucy I'm home_!" Tony called out in his best Ricky Ricardo impersonation. He smiled at his beautiful wife before dropping his NCIS backpack to the floor by the door and taking Ziva into his arms. He kissed her in a long awaited moment together. All day Tony dreamt of sweeping his wife into his arms and kissing her. He'd never tire of kissing Ziva. Not ever.

"Daddy!" a little voice called from the back hallway so Tony and Ziva pulled apart just in time for Ariel to dash into the room with a smile almost as large as her parents'.

"How's my little ankle biter doing?" Tony asked as he snatched her up and spun her around in a circle before planting a big kiss on the top of her head. Ariel clung to her father just as she had clung to Gibbs's neck when she hugged him.

"I'm great!" Ariel squeaked. "Grandpa Gibbs finished his boat! That means we get to sleep over!" Just as Ariel told her father of her plans, Gibbs walked down the back hallway with Ariel's Hello Kitty backpack over his shoulder.

"Wow, boss. That's a good look for you." Tony teased as he put his daughter down. "So you're going to sleep in a boat tonight?" Tony paused before saying, "_You're gonna need a bigger boat_." in his best Roy Scheider voice. He was clearly very proud of his pun but virtually no one else laughed. As usual.

"Can we go now, Grandpa Gibbs? Can we, can we, can we?" Ariel begged adorably, giving Gibbs her best puppy eyes. Gibbs all but pronounced the S in "sure" before Ariel was out the front door and running for Gibbs's car. The adults all chuckled at her as Gibbs rushed after her.

"Her car-seat is in my car." Ziva told Gibbs as he rushed outside. Tony stood behind her, rubbing the tension in her neck.

"You know everything is going to be fine." he whispered in her ear. "This _is _Gibbs we're talking about here. The man is practically invincible. Our daughter isn't going to kill him."

Ziva turned to smile cheekily at him. "How do you know that is what I am worried about, Tony?" she asked and he smiled.

"Because she is _our_ daughter." Tony retorted and Ziva laughed. They watched from the front porch as Gibbs got Ariel's things situated in the backseat of his car while the little girl waited impatiently. Before he let her climb in he told her to run back to her parents and give them big hugs.

So Ariel ran to Tony and Ziva who gave her a group hug and kiss then she ran back to Gibbs who held the door open for her. "Bye Imah! Bye Abbah!" Ariel yelled from the car as she waved out the open window. Tony and Ziva waved back until their little girl was out of sight.

Ariel held her hand out the open window, letting the wind carry her little fingers whichever direction it pleased. She smiled contently with her head resting against the side of her seat. It was summer in Washington which meant no school and lots of trips to the park with her family. Ariel didn't just count her mom and dad as her family. Grandpa Gibbs, Uncle Timmy and Auntie Abby, Grandpa Ducky and even Uncle Jimmy were her family too. She knew they weren't really related to her- that they were just her parent's co-workers- but they were her family nonetheless. They had all been there for her parents wedding, her birth, her first day of kindergarten. For goodness sakes, Auntie Abby was there for her first steps and Duck was her first word (though no one is sure if she meant the animal or her "grandpa").

"You okay back there? You're awfully quiet." Gibbs said as he drove back to his house. He hadn't entirely planned on having Ariel over tonight- though he always welcomed her. But he finished his newest boat faster then he thought he would and he couldn't forget his promise. So when he finished cleaning up the wood shavings and tools, he drove straight over to pick Ariel up. Maybe that's why Ziva was so apprehensive. Either that, or the fact that Gibbs hadn't spent a night alone with Ariel since she was a baby and the new parents called him at four in the morning tired and cranky unsure of how to consol their seemingly colicky baby. Gibbs had gone over to rock and shush the baby to bed with infuriating ease. Though both of the new parents were ridiculously angry that Gibbs put her to bed so effortlessly, they were still grateful and from that day on Gibbs always referred to Ariel as his Gibblet. He'd spent the night so Tony and Ziva could get some much needed rest and woke up with Ariel every few hours when she would cry. He took care of her the whole night without waking her parents. He hadn't realized till the next morning how truly long it had been since he'd done so.

"I'm just happy, Grandpa Gibbs." Ariel replied softly from the backseat. Gibbs watched her through the rearview mirror. "I'm really happy. Mommy and I went to the park today and I met new friends. We even went out to lunch at Mc-McDonald's and Mommy never lets me eat there! And now we're gonna sleep in the boat!"

"Sounds like a great day, Gibblet." Gibbs replied with a smile. The little girl was smiling as she sighed.

"Yeah it was!" she cheered, still weaving her hand fluently through the air outside her window. Her curly brown hair was being wiped in every which direction but she couldn't be bothered to care. She sighed. "Being this happy is making me tired, Grandpa Gibbs."

Gibbs laughed. "Well you better wake up little missy! Because I have a whole night of boating fun planned for us!" he said grandly. Ariel giggled.

"Ahoy!" she replied and they both laughed. Gibbs asked her about her day after that and so she told him every great thing she'd done. She had her father's talkativeness that's for sure. She talked the whole way to Gibbs's place and while he was carrying her things into the house. Ariel always found it to be quite odd that Gibbs never slept in a bed but rather on his couch. But every time she came into Gibbs's living room, she'd jump up on the couch and get comfortable in the pile of blankets Gibbs used to sleep with.

"So what are we going to do first?" she asked, curling up in the quilt Gibbs used the previous night. He sat down next to her and she cuddled into his side with a smile.

"How about some dinner?" Gibbs offered and Ariel's growling stomach answered him. Gibbs knew how much his little "granddaughter" loved his fireplace-stakes. So he went to the kitchen to prepare their meal while Ariel grabbed an old chapter book off of Gibbs's coffee table and pretended to read it. "You getting any of that?" Gibbs asked teasingly as he sat down in front of the fireplace to cook their meal.

"Nope," Ariel replied flatly but continued to study the pages. "Hey! Can we eat in the boat, Grandpa Gibbs?" she exclaimed suddenly, getting all excited again.

Gibbs laughed. "Absolutely not. We _can_ eat on the front porch though." Gibbs replied evenly. Ariel sighed but nodded in agreement anyway.

"Is that….comphermising?" Ariel asked, messing up the big word Uncle Timmy had taught her.

"Compromising," Gibbs corrected with a nod. "And yep that's would be compromising."

Ariel mouthed the word thoughtfully just as her mother did when she screwed up an American idiotism. Ariel was the perfect mix of both her parents. She had Ziva's wild hair and soulful eyes but Tony's excitable and talkative nature. She was really smart as well and often asked questions far beyond her maturity level. She once asked Ducky why he didn't have a wife. Shocked and unsure of how to answer, Ducky wound up telling the little girl he wasn't married so he could give _her _all of his love. That pacified her perfectly fine.

When Gibbs finished the steaks, he cut up Ariel's for her then went to the fridge to get drinks. Funny how just a few years ago Gibbs had little but milk, eggs and beer in his fridge. Now it was packed with juice boxes and Lunchables. He grabbed a beer for himself and a juice box for Ariel and told her to carry them carefully onto the front porch where they would eat. They sat on the top step with their plates in their laps and their drinks by their sides. Ariel looked up at the setting sun.

"Grandpa Gibbs, how does the sun know when its time to go down?" Ariel asked pensively. Instead of trying to explain the whole spinning round earth thing to the six year old, Gibbs just told her that when the moon yawned and awoke from his slumber, the sun switched places with him. "So when the moon wakes up…that's when the sun goes to bed?" Ariel concluded and Gibbs nodded. She'd learn the truth in a few years but what was childhood for if not for being imaginative?

"If I were the sun," Ariel mumbled, a mouth full of steak. "I would need a nap."

Gibbs laughed, agreeing. "It's a tough job lighting the whole world."

Ariel looked up at Gibbs with a big smile. "You light my world, Grandpa Gibbs." she said sweetly and Gibbs all but choked on his steak. He beamed down at the girl as he wrapped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Gibblet." Gibbs said, his throat thick with emotion. Ariel giggled adorably.

"Where does the sun go, Grandpa Gibbs? Where's his bed?" she asked after a minute of silence between them. Gibbs sighed; he didn't know the answers to these kinds of questions. She was too smart for him.

"Well where do you think the sun goes?" he asked and she thought long and hard about it.

"I think the sun has a bed in Heaven with God. That's where the moon sleeps too, probably." Ariel finally concluded and Gibbs nodded, telling her she was probably right. "But I'm sure they actually have beds and don't sleep on couches like you, Grandpa Gibbs."

Gibbs laughed as he tousled Ariel's hair. When they finished their dinner she helped him carry the dishes back to the kitchen and she even dried them after he was done washing them. They talked about random things and laughed as they spent good quality time together. Gibbs liked spending time with Ariel if just because she didn't need to constantly be entertained. They could just sit on the couch and talk or read a book. But that didn't mean Gibbs hadn't gotten down on the floor and played cowgirl with Ariel on a number of occasions. He'd never admit that to anyone though and he made Ziva swear on her life she'd never tell a soul.

When they were done with the dishes, Gibbs surprised her by taking her out for ice cream. It was still light enough outside that they could walk but Ariel wanted a piggy-back-ride so Gibbs wound up carrying the girl the whole way to the ice cream parlor a few blocks away. He told her funny stories as they walked. She especially loved stories about her parents before she came around. Of course Gibbs kept the stories rated G but he told her a lot about how they would bicker and tease each other and how everyone knew they loved each other for a long time before they got married.

They ordered two soft serve chocolate ice cream cones with sprinkles and loaded up on napkins before Gibbs paid and they walked back to the house. Their hands were sticky (as was Ariel's mouth) and Ariel couldn't finish her whole cone so when they got back to the house Gibbs ushered her to the bathroom so she could clean herself off while he finished her ice cream.

"Get in your pajamas awhile, Gibblet. I'm gonna get the boat ready for us." Gibbs told her, tossing her backpack into the bathroom where she was standing on the stool washing her hands.

Gibbs grabbed a bunch of pillows and blankets and went down to the basement. He took a step back to admire the boat. He'd never kept any of his other boats, but this one he definitely would. Not because it was his fanciest woodwork or because he'd put so much time and effort into it. No, Gibbs would keep it because on the tail end, _Ariel _was written in black.

"I'm ready for bed!" Ariel yelled a few minutes later as she waddled down the stairs in her matching pink cupcake pajamas.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Gibbs asked and she bobbed her head up and down. She hit the bottom step and gasped. She stared at the boat like it was the most magnificent thing she'd ever seen in all her long six years of life.

"Oh my gosh, Grandpa Gibbs!" she gaped. "It's so _big_! And it has my name on it!" She ran her fingers gently along the side of the boat, just admiring it. "Will it float?"

"What do you mean will it float? It's a boat isn't it? Of course it'll float." Gibbs replied and Ariel giggled. "You want to get inside?" he asked but she was already nodding excitedly. He hoisted her up into the boat where he'd thrown the pillows and blankets. She squealed with delight.

"It's so pretty, Grandpa Gibbs." she exclaimed as she walked about the boat in her bare feet, loving the feel of the fresh wood under her toes. "Can I tell people I helped you build this boat, Grandpa Gibbs?"

"You helped sand it, didn't you? In my book that means you helped build it." Gibbs replied and Ariel beamed with joy. She made a bed out of the pillows and blankets while Gibbs grabbed a book from her backpack and a flashlight. When she was ready, he turned off the light and climbed into the boat next to her. She cuddled up to his side and he draped his arm around her. He clicked on the flashlight and read quietly from the chapter book her parents read to her every night before bed.

"I love spending time with you, Grandpa Gibbs." Ariel said contently as she snuggled closer to him and yawned. Gibbs smiled.

"I love spending time with you too, Gibblet." he replied, kissing the top of her head. He read two chapters but she still wasn't tired so he grabbed his portable radio and set it to play quietly in the background as they laid down together in the dark. Gibbs wasn't tired in the least but Ariel wouldn't sleep unless she could cuddle up on his chest so he stayed.

"I wish I could…"-yawn-"…spend every day with you, Grandpa Gibbs." Ariel whispered.

"That would be nice, baby girl. Now go to sleep." Gibbs replied softly. He stroked her hair gently as her eyes began to drift shut and her breathing evened out.

But before she was fully asleep, Ariel mumbled, "I love you lots, Grandpa Gibbs." with a big yawn.

Gibbs smiled and hugged her closer. "I love you too, Gibblet." he whispered to the already fast asleep child lying on his chest.


End file.
